T
The420Guy
Guest
TORONTO (CP) - A growing plague of electricity-gobbling illegal marijuana
growhouses is costing Ontario's hydro utilities upwards of $500 million a
year, an amount ultimately paid by all energy consumers, power distributors
say. Fuelled by massive marijuana-generated profits, the operations, which
have sprouted by the thousands in the past few years, also carry a huge
social cost, they say.
"The days where a grove of marijuana would be masked up north in a field are
over," said Andrew Evangelista, a lawyer who represents electricity
distributors. "There has been a proliferation of residential houses hidden
in residential neighbourhoods all across Ontario being used to grow
marijuana." Worth as much as $4 billion a year, marijuana is among the most
valuable cash crops in the province.
Please see below for some facts on marijuana growhouses
Police say Ontario is fast catching up with British Columbia as Canada's
pot-growing capital with that province's $6-billion-a-year market.
It's a powerful lure for organized criminals, they say.
Police estimate a single hydroponic growhouse can churn out plants worth a
street value of more than $1 million a year and much of it ends up in the
United States.
Growing marijuana indoors requires powerful lights and ventilation,
consuming about $2,000 in electricity a month, but hydro thieves simply
bypass the meters to avoid the overhead and make tracing the operations
harder.
"The demands on the system are enormous," Evangelista said.
York Region Det.-Sgt. Gary Miner said authorities in Markham, just north of
Toronto, have been shutting down up to 10 such operations a week.
"It's out of control, it's an epidemic, it's a virus," he said.
"This year we've done a 107 warrants and the more we do, the more we find."
In a recent one-day national crackdown, police scooped up $47 million worth
of pot plants 136 suspects, and found 28 children in the houses, some
booby-trapped to discourage intrusion.
Ontario Liberal member Michael Bryant said the illegal operations hurt
everyone.
"While they're being asked to conserve electricity, some pot-growing energy
thief next door is toking up all the electricity, causing brownouts and
blackouts, driving up electricity prices, and sending the neighbourhood up
in smoke," said Bryant.
The costs go well beyond the estimated $5 a month extra consumers pay on
their hydro bills.
The illegal hydro hookups and lights pose a major fire hazard, and the
houses, many rented from unsuspecting landlords, often get badly damaged.
The costs are shouldered by police, fire and hydro services, banks,
insurance companies and the health system, all of which are ultimately
passed onto consumers and taxpayers.
Miner said police need "an eradication tool" that allows them to enter a
growhouse, remove and destroy the plants without a warrant.
Bryant said the province can help by giving hydro utilities the power to
slap liens on properties involved in the theft to help recoup their losses.
But ultimately, police say, a coherent national drug strategy is needed.
Electrical utilities in Ontario say illegal pot growhouses are stealing $500
million in power a year and causing a huge safety hazard. Some facts by the
numbers:
Estimated power theft in Ontario: $500 million a year.
Estimated number of growhouses in Toronto area: 10,000
Average power cost per growhouse: $2,000 per month.
Estimated value of Ontario pot crop: $4 billion.
Estimated value of B.C. pot crop: $6 billion.
Signs a home is being used for pot growing
- No one ever appears to be home.
- House only appears occupied for a few hours at a time but no one lives there.
- Cannabis or masking odour.
- Windows boarded or covered.
- Tenants pay only cash or offer to pay more than agreed rent.
- Tenants discourage landlord visits.
----------------------
MapInc
Ontario marijuana growhouses gobbling $500 million in power, distributors=
say
COLIN PERKEL
Canadian Press
growhouses is costing Ontario's hydro utilities upwards of $500 million a
year, an amount ultimately paid by all energy consumers, power distributors
say. Fuelled by massive marijuana-generated profits, the operations, which
have sprouted by the thousands in the past few years, also carry a huge
social cost, they say.
"The days where a grove of marijuana would be masked up north in a field are
over," said Andrew Evangelista, a lawyer who represents electricity
distributors. "There has been a proliferation of residential houses hidden
in residential neighbourhoods all across Ontario being used to grow
marijuana." Worth as much as $4 billion a year, marijuana is among the most
valuable cash crops in the province.
Please see below for some facts on marijuana growhouses
Police say Ontario is fast catching up with British Columbia as Canada's
pot-growing capital with that province's $6-billion-a-year market.
It's a powerful lure for organized criminals, they say.
Police estimate a single hydroponic growhouse can churn out plants worth a
street value of more than $1 million a year and much of it ends up in the
United States.
Growing marijuana indoors requires powerful lights and ventilation,
consuming about $2,000 in electricity a month, but hydro thieves simply
bypass the meters to avoid the overhead and make tracing the operations
harder.
"The demands on the system are enormous," Evangelista said.
York Region Det.-Sgt. Gary Miner said authorities in Markham, just north of
Toronto, have been shutting down up to 10 such operations a week.
"It's out of control, it's an epidemic, it's a virus," he said.
"This year we've done a 107 warrants and the more we do, the more we find."
In a recent one-day national crackdown, police scooped up $47 million worth
of pot plants 136 suspects, and found 28 children in the houses, some
booby-trapped to discourage intrusion.
Ontario Liberal member Michael Bryant said the illegal operations hurt
everyone.
"While they're being asked to conserve electricity, some pot-growing energy
thief next door is toking up all the electricity, causing brownouts and
blackouts, driving up electricity prices, and sending the neighbourhood up
in smoke," said Bryant.
The costs go well beyond the estimated $5 a month extra consumers pay on
their hydro bills.
The illegal hydro hookups and lights pose a major fire hazard, and the
houses, many rented from unsuspecting landlords, often get badly damaged.
The costs are shouldered by police, fire and hydro services, banks,
insurance companies and the health system, all of which are ultimately
passed onto consumers and taxpayers.
Miner said police need "an eradication tool" that allows them to enter a
growhouse, remove and destroy the plants without a warrant.
Bryant said the province can help by giving hydro utilities the power to
slap liens on properties involved in the theft to help recoup their losses.
But ultimately, police say, a coherent national drug strategy is needed.
Electrical utilities in Ontario say illegal pot growhouses are stealing $500
million in power a year and causing a huge safety hazard. Some facts by the
numbers:
Estimated power theft in Ontario: $500 million a year.
Estimated number of growhouses in Toronto area: 10,000
Average power cost per growhouse: $2,000 per month.
Estimated value of Ontario pot crop: $4 billion.
Estimated value of B.C. pot crop: $6 billion.
Signs a home is being used for pot growing
- No one ever appears to be home.
- House only appears occupied for a few hours at a time but no one lives there.
- Cannabis or masking odour.
- Windows boarded or covered.
- Tenants pay only cash or offer to pay more than agreed rent.
- Tenants discourage landlord visits.
----------------------
MapInc
Ontario marijuana growhouses gobbling $500 million in power, distributors=
say
COLIN PERKEL
Canadian Press
